1 valve

At no point in time did Buster own the stadium which has always been an asset owned By David Hensley via Beaumont Sports Complex Ltd for which he is the sole Director and built on leased land owned by Leicester City Council. Buster stepped in to acquire the club in order to maintain speedway at the venue which was ultimately taken over by the Bates. The stadium itself was designed and built with the sole purpose of hosting speedway. Holding stock car racing at the stadium was and never has been a consideration.

Its just difficult to comprehend why the BSPL fail to grasp modern streaming media and the benefits available to UK speedway for a modest investment. Clubs working independently of each other at the local level is just plainly inefficient from a marketing and promotional standpoint. Hopefully (maybe) the more recent promoters to the sport may bring something different to the table and in doing so, not let the hobbyist "take" without "first putting in".

The realty was that Sky needed subscribers and from their knowledge of the mutually successful relationship between TV & the NFL they knew that Uk football was the answer. Sky played a pivotal role in the formation of the Premiership alongside the then big five of Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs & Everton. From its inception, clubs have never had the need to fund any part of the running of the league itself as those costs are met from commercial income including TV deals. Each club as shareholders own one share with one vote which they lose if they are relegated. Speedway had a similar opportunity with Sky but the promoters and their central body failed to invest the money correctly to future proof the sport and eventually rather than build a strong relationship with their broadcasting partner the promoters as a body actually alienated Sky.

If indeed it turns out that the role of CEO (incumbent Phil Morris) has been made redundant due to a lack of money then it’s difficult to see how an “independent body/person” that is often raised as a solution on this forum, could be funded to run the sport. That said, the sport is already “run” by a (supposedly) independent body - the SCB - which by and large get their objectives done and funded by license & similar fees. Which brings the conversation back to the BSPL & the intransigent hobbyist majority within. Their actions continue to block progress of the sport (to now include the removal of a CEO) simply because they have little or no intention or capability of implementing change which may (would) disrupt their hobby. Until, somehow, there is sufficient momentum by a group of well funded vested promoters to bring about long term change, then worryingly, we fans need to understand that whilst they remain in situ the hobbyist will continue to rule.

I mean. A group of promoters, the majority of whom promote Championship speedway. That said, “Cartel” is a very strong term to use. Maybe more accurate to use “hobbyists” who’s preference is to keep to the way things are run because that protects their involvement to a low level of risk whilst fulfilling their egos.

I mean. A group of promoters, the majority of whom promote Championship speedway. That said, “Cartel” is a very strong term to use. Maybe more accurate to use “hobbyists” who’s preference is to keep to the way things are run because that protects their involvement to a low level of risk whilst fulfilling their egos.

The majority of promoters who in the main run Championship clubs.

Unfortunately for UK speedway we are exposed to two types of promoter. 1. The professional. 2. The hobbyist. And let’s be clear, some regard themselves as professionals because they run businesses elsewhere but are in realty stuck in the mud hobbyists. What makes the matter worse is that there are more hobbyists promoters than professionals and thus they get to say what goes and what doesn’t. I live in (faint) hope that the time will come when the professionals get together and gain sufficient momentum/influence & money to go it alone. Because make no mistake the hobbyist are not (as they would like us to believe) keeping the sport going on a thriving basis, they are holding it to ransom and actively leading it to an eventual demise.

But nothing official so far?

It already is. Along with the home straight and the bends. Otherwise a tad difficult for the riders to do one lap never mind four! 😉

LCFC & Forest in different divisions and likely to continue for a few more seasons so no local rivalry (fiction or otherwise) for some time to come.

Maybe, some riders have been signed and maybe, Iversen is one of them. If so then he would be a declared rider albeit not to the general public which would be done once all riders have been signed.

Milton Keynes “The Grove” was just a tad over 4 miles from Newport Pagnell. But at 9.6 miles it’s very close to Brafield so let’s hope folk take the time to take in a few enjoyable meetings.

“Kiss of death” ?

The chosen level doesn’t really matter as there are insufficient numbers available of any section of rider ability to offer equality across the current number of teams. Doubling up isn’t actually killing the sport, after all it’s keeping clubs alive due to the sharing of riders. It is however removing any real opportunity for growth because as you say the sport needs credibility and doubling up acts against that concept. For speedway to grow in the UK, what’s needed first of all is some pruning to give eight full time professional clubs with the remainder running on a (lower cost)semi-pro basis. Unfortunately there’s too much self interest involved by promoters to make this an immediate possibility hence unfortunately the demise will in all probability continue.

Not enough quality riders available of a comparable ability to run two leagues without doubling up. It’s just the math of the situation.

If your idea of doubling up was adopted then five or six clubs would close as there would be insufficient riders of competitive compatibility available. However, you could dumb down the sport and have 5 riders per team or even allow a mix of established & NDL level riders to feature in the same meeting. Whichever alternative you choose the competitive element would be reduced & just accelerate the decline of quality speedway in the UK.

Highly unlikely any marketing or promotional organisation would consider adopting “Cobblers given the slang phrase “load of cobblers” used to express strong disbelief, contempt, or to dismiss something as utter nonsense, rubbish, or a lie.

A compulsory purchase order (CPO) is not generally referred to as merely "attempted" in a legal sense, but rather it goes through a four stage process where it is made, objected to, confirmed, and then executed. It is considered a last resort, and the acquiring authority must prove they have attempted to acquire the land by negotiation beforehand. Only Brandon Estates are likely to make an objection which given the history of rejected planning and appeal only the price offered could be grounds for such an objection. The valuation is determined by a chartered surveyor, usually appointed by the acquiring authority based on the "market value" of the land as if it were sold by a willing seller on the open market, excluding any future changes in value caused by the intended future use.

It would not be about promoters “throwing” their money about but “investing” in promotional marketing & product development. A better product, coverage & entertainment are the requirements to create increased crowd levels & support.

The purpose of having to tolerate doubling up is far from solely providing income stream for riders. It also enables the current number of clubs to function which is in fact the main reason promoters continue to endorse it. The concept of dumbing down the sport by having one league comprising the same or similar number of existing teams to include NDL level & similar limited rider ability or by fielding five man teams is not the answer. The way forward should be towards establishing top flight elite speedway of professional teams of eight and a second tier of semi-pro/ amateur teams. This concept should also enable the existing promoters to be split into two groups of a)professional & b)hobbyists. The professional group investing and promoting Elite speedway would amongst other things be responsible for the face of growing awareness of the sport to media and sponsorship. Whilst the second group providing growth and development opportunities alongside lower related running costs. There are now more than a few promoters who are well established businesses folk capable of developing the sport. Those same folk whilst prepared to run a team in the existing environment are not prepared to dig deep financially to create change whist the hobbyist’s continue to be blockers to any form of change which would cause their current influence to be significantly diluted.

Go fund now up to £7.5k Yet again speedway folk show their true colours when the chips are down. If a few more of us could “chip-in” a spare tenner or so, then the target will be soon me. Let’s hope some of the cash raised can be used to improve security at the stadium! After all prevention is better than cure.

We can discount Coventry from being ready for 2027. The current issues will take until the end of this summer to resolve at the very least and even if any final outcome falls in favour of Stox & speedway returning to Brandon, it will take a great deal of time to conclude a sale, clear the site and build a suitable race track and spectator facilities. If we’re lucky then Brandon could be up and running for a full 2028 season but not before.

They have their reasons for the delay in releasing full details of the “new” club. And, as they are the folk making it happen it is their prerogative to decide when that will be. Meanwhile let’s be grateful for this positive step in the current tough times for British speedway and wish the promoters and all concerned all the best of luck in their endeavours to make Northampton a long term success.